This invention relates to an improved procedure for recovering and recycling uranium materials, and in particular for producing uranium dioxide powder suitable for the fabrication of nuclear fuel for reactor service.
Uranium is generally reclaimed from any wastes, production or product rejects, or the like materials containing same, and recycled, if feasible, because of its high costs and possible environmental concern about its disposal otherwise.
A common means for reclaiming uranium from waste, rejects and the like sources is to contact any such uranium-containing material with nitric acid to dissolve the uranium content thereof and convert it into a soluble compound, uranyl nitrate, for extraction, separation and recovery.
One system for reclaiming uranium, in particular enriched uranium for use as nuclear fuel, employing such an acid dissolution procedure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,177,241, issued Dec. 4, 1979 and assigned to the same assignee as the subject invention. The contents of the disclosure of this relevant background patent is incorporated herein by reference.
However, this invention is applicable to uranyl nitrate derived from the nitric acid dissolution of uranium regardless of its source, including for example tri-butyl phosphate solvent extracted uranium which has been dissolved in nitric acid as well as scrap and waste sources from nuclear fuel manufacture. The uranium can be enriched or unenriched.